Bugs, missing features and a higher Call of Duty price. Such schemes, according to Sony, could be used by Microsoft to deter PlayStation gamers after the Activision Blizzard acquisition.
Final verdicts on the Activision Blizzard acquisition are still unknown. Meanwhile, Sony and Microsoft continue to exchange “arguments”. For example the Japanese giant believes that Microsoft could sabotage new slices of Obligationto deter PlayStation gamers.
Such a statement was made in a document published by the UK Consumer Protection Authority (CMA). This relates to Sony’s comments on the agency’s recent report on the Activision Blizzard deal, including proposed actions that could allow the deal to potentially threaten competition in the games market.
Sony doesn’t think Microsoft isn’t trying to use Call of Duty to gain an advantage in the console market. Source: Activision Blizzard.
Of course, Sony believes that the CMA should block this purchase completely, unless there is a significant “restructuring” of AB. This would be to ensure that Activision Blizzard’s “core content”, including the Obligation there World of Warcraft brands – would remain independent of Microsoft. Especially since, according to Sony, the Redmond giant is known for not respecting the commitments imposed by regulators.
SIE goes on to list actions Microsoft could use to limit competition, namely giving Xboxes an advantage over PlayStation consoles. These include increase the price of Obligation on Sony platforms, but also causing newer games in the series to run less well on PlayStation than on Xbox. For example, in the old CoD, there would be more bugs.
Sony also mentions the possible exclusivity of certain features in new CoD games. SIE points out that, in principle, it would be impossible to monitor Microsoft’s actions to prevent this sort of thing.
Moreover, even if such “problems” were detected, they would most likely occur post-launch (especially if the bugs only appeared in later stages of the game). According to Sony, upcoming installments of Call of Duty sell best in the first few weeks after release, and the lack of bug reports on Xbox may discourage gamers from buying CoD on PlayStation (and therefore console as well). ):
“For example Microsoft may release a PlayStation version of Obligationin which bugs only appear at the final level or after subsequent updates.
Even if such degradations could be detected quickly, any countermeasures would come too late. (…).
If it became clear that the game’s performance on PlayStation was worse than on Xbox, Call of Duty players might decide to switch to Xbox for fear of playing their favorite game on a second-rate or less competitive platform. .
In short, Sony doesn’t believe in Microsoft’s offers to give PlayStation owners access to Call of Duty. Therefore, he demands that the Activision Blizzard deal be blocked or, as the US agency has suggested, that the company be thoroughly restructured.
CMA I will summarize his investigation on April 26, the day after the expected decision on the matter by the European Commission.
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Passionate about video games (and others) for years, he completed an MBA in linguistics, defending a thesis on games. He started his adventure with GlobeLiveMedia in 2015, writing in the editorial department, then also covering movies and oh, horror! – technology (also a contributor to the Games Encyclopedia). He started with platform games, which he still loves (including metroidvania), but he also likes card games (including “analog” games), fighting games, soul games and virtually any other kind of game. Don’t ask about the graphics: after a few hours of exposure, you can revel in pixelated game characters reminiscent of the days of the Game Boy era (if not older).
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